Drug Overdose Deaths Rise, Disparities Widen | VitalSigns

Racial and ethnic minority groups have less access to proven treatments for substance use disorders. This difference is not simply because of a lack of availability of services. Communities with higher capacity to provide care had the highest death rates, and this pattern was even worse for Black and AI/AN people. Income inequalities, often negatively impacting people from racial and ethnic minority groups at a greater level, can lead to lack of stable housing, reliable transportation, and health insurance.  This makes it even more difficult for people to access treatment and other support services.

In addition, overdoses are becoming more common and deadly. Mixing drugs or using more than one drug (polysubstance use) and the increasing spread of illicitly manufactured fentanyls (IMFs) in the drug supply are major concerns. It is critical for prevention efforts to address polysubstance use while also working to reduce historical health inequities, promote primary prevention, and expand proven treatment, recovery support services, and harm reduction strategies. Public health departments can bring together criminal justice, health care, social services, employers, and government partners to focus on comprehensive efforts that have the greatest potential to prevent overdose.